Alaska Voters Face Ballot Confusion As Duplicate Names Appear Days Before Election
A retired teacher registered as a Republican to run against the incumbent, a move linked to a covert strategy by the opposing campaign.
By Charlotte Dubois ·
Alaska voters will encounter two candidates named Dan Sullivan on the general election ballot for the state Senate seat on Tuesday. This duplication of names creates a direct challenge for residents seeking to distinguish between the incumbent Republican senator and a retired teacher from Petersburg. The situation has intensified scrutiny of the strategies employed by the Democratic campaign of Mary Peltola in the final days before the vote.
The core of the dispute centers on Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher and left-leaning voter. He switched his voter registration to the Republican party shortly before filing his candidacy. According to a report published by The New York Times, this move was part of a coordinated effort to split the right-leaning vote. The campaign for Peltola is alleged to have played an active role in identifying and recruiting such candidates to weaken the incumbent's position.
The initiative, internally referred to as the ballot composition project, began in the summer of 2025. A Peltola staffer was tasked with reviewing state voter rolls to identify Alaskans sharing the incumbent's name. The team included aides from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, party lawyers, and a Democratic operative named Jerid Kurtz. Kurtz reportedly traveled across the state under the alias Zane, meeting potential recruits at local pubs and diners to offer financial support in exchange for their candidacy.
Elisa Rios, who served as Peltola's campaign manager until her dismissal in August, stated that Peltola was definitely aware of the project's existence. Rios argued that Alaskan voters need the full picture to make informed decisions. Although she later attempted to retract her comments, the report noted that her initial statements were corroborated by internal documents, text messages, and eleven other sources. The campaign maintained that Peltola was not directly involved in orchestrating the recruitment.
The strategy extended beyond the second Sullivan candidate. Operatives reportedly pressured progressive candidate David Leslie to drop out of the race. This allowed drywall contractor Gerald Heikes to secure the fourth spot on Alaska's ranked-choice ballot. The team also considered forming a third-party MAGA party to further siphon votes from the incumbent, a plan they abandoned in May. Attorney Jacquelyn Lopez, representing both the DSCC and Peltola, was involved in discussions regarding these field operations.
President Donald Trump reacted to the news on Truth Social, describing the situation as election fraud. He argued that Peltola should not be allowed to keep her name on the ballot and that the fake Dan Sullivan should also be removed. The White House Communications Director Steven Cheung shared a post calling the plan a secret, corrupt effort to stack the ballot. A Justice Department lawsuit is currently pending, seeking to block the certification of the election if the incumbent loses due to voter confusion over the identical names.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee stated in a statement to Fox News that it had no role in recruiting either Sullivan or any other Republican candidate. A spokesperson for the group pointed to a history of similar tactics by Republicans, including recruiting a prisoner with a New York address and securing a ballot spot for an Arizona resident. Under Alaska's four-person general election system, Peltola enters the race as the sole Democrat. She faces Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, Dan J. Sullivan, and Gerald Heikes.
The ballot composition project relied on a network of advisors and operatives to execute its goals. The effort involved compiling lists of names and engaging with local candidates directly. The timing of the report, released just days before Election Day, places the controversy at the center of the final campaign push. Voters in the state must now navigate a ballot that includes two candidates with the same first and last name, a situation that has prompted legal challenges and public debate.
